2018 - Oh What A Year!

It's the last day of 2018, and I can't help but remininisce! Just like any other year, it had its ups and downs, but for the most part, it was a great year for my family. I know I say it every single year at this time, but this year FLEW BY! 

Sometimes it's so easy to get stuck on what went wrong during the year, but I choose to focus on the positive. We ended the year with everybody we love still in our lives, so that's an instant win! Yes, there were difficult moments, but the year was filled with so much love, happiness, and lasting memories! 2018 was an exciting year for us. Not only did we add a puppy to our family, but we found out we were expecting one more baby...SURPRISE!

Here are the biggest moments of 2018...

JANUARY

*We rang in the New Year with some of our closest friends!
*We knocked a sleep study for Liam off of our To Do List. (He passed!)
*We watched Dylan play basketball every Saturday.
*We went ice skating and played in the snow.

FEBRUARY

*We continued to watch Dylan's weekly basketball games.
*We took our big kids on a trip to Castaway Bay, which is an indoor waterpark in Ohio. (We had an amazing time, but I ended up getting the flu while we were there!)
*We celebrated Valentine's Day!
*We celebrated Lexie's 11th Birthday!
*We got a new family member...an English Mastiff puppy we named Ella!

MARCH

*We celebrated St. Patrick's Day.
*We celebrated World Down Syndrome Day in honor of our favorite little homie with an extra chromie!
*Lexie and Lily went to their first bridal shower, because they were the flower girls in their cousin's upcoming wedding!

APRIL

*We celebrated Easter!
*I turned one year older. (YIKES!)
*Lexie started spring soccer.

MAY 

*We went on a day trip to Erie to see my big brother get remarried! (We left behind 80 degree weather, and had to take along our winter coats to go just 90 miles away!)
*We celebrated Mother's Day.
*We went to Dylan's last chorus concert.
*All of my kids were in my cousin's wedding!
*We went to Lexie's band and chorus concert. (It turned out to be her last year in band.)
*My niece and her family moved to Georgia, and we said a very difficult goodbye to my great niece, who was an honorary member of my crew. We miss them SO much!

JUNE

*School's Out for the Summer!
*We celebrated Father's Day.
*Lily had her end of the year dance recital!

JULY

*We had a fun 4th of July with friends!
*We explored our city (Pittsburgh) on a Just Ducky Tour.
*We celebrated Grant's birthday!
*Liam got super sick, and ended up in Urgent Care, then landed in the ER for the night.

AUGUST

*Lily celebrated her 7th Birthday!
*We went to my annual family reunion.
*Liam had his last day of preschool EVER!
*Liam celebrated his 5th Birthday on our road trip to Myrtle Beach!
*We enjoyed our wonderful family vacation in Myrtle Beach!
*We found out we were expecting baby #5 while we were on vacation...BIG surprise. (We didn't tell anyone the news for weeks!)
*Dylan started 8th Grade, Lexie started 6th Grade, Lily started 2nd Grade, and Liam started Kindergarten!

SEPTEMBER 

*Liam's picture appeared in Times Square!
*Back to school and activities consumed our lives as I struggled with extreme morning sickness.

OCTOBER 

*We celebrated Down syndrome Awareness Month!
*We visited the Destination Moon exhibit at the Heinz History Center.
*We went Trick or Treating at Grant's office.
*We finally announced our pregnancy!
*We found out the gender for the first time EVER!
*We celebrated Halloween!

NOVEMBER

*We celebrated Dylan's 14th Birthday on Thanksgiving!!!
*We kicked off the holiday season!

DECEMBER

*We celebrated Ella's 1st Birthday!
*We went to Lexie's chorus concert.
*We celebrated Christmas all month long!
*We had a wonderful Christmas this year!
(Full Christmas recap coming soon!)

2018 was full of so many beautiful moments! Life may be noisy, chaotic, and stressful with a family this big, but we are incredibly blessed. We can't wait to see what 2019 brings! (Other than a baby in 10 short weeks!)